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The Seductive Power of Romance Languages

Latin is a language that has had a huge impact on the world as we know it today. In medieval times, it was a language that was only spoken by farmers and shopkeepers and limited to Rome and its surroundings. However, it soon spread throughout the Roman empire, and even after the empire had fallen, the language stood strong. Legends throughout history, such as Cleopatra in Ancient Egypt, were known to pick up a number of these languages, and could speak them all fluently. Between the sixth and ninth century, as Latin continued to spread throughout Europe, it began to evolve, giving birth to the Romance languages, which are still considered to be the most seductive and romantic languages in the world today.

French
While French is considered to be the most evolved of the Romance languages, it also thought to be the most romantic language in the world. Often referred to as the Language of Love, French culture has played a huge role in this perception, with part of this coming from the international prestige that surrounded the French language. French is also a language of accuracy and clarity, with a number of different romantic words and phrases that do not exist in other languages. An example of this is the word “retrouvaille”, which usually refers to long-distance relationships, and couples that have had to spend time apart but are now reunited with each other again.

Spanish
The official language of 21 countries, Spanish is widely spoken around the world and is another one of the Romance languages. The Spanish language gives its speakers a versatility and passion that they can use in their words, making the language seem extremely sensual and powerful. Spanish phrases also flow together well, with many words sounding much softer than their translations in other languages.

Italian
Many consider Italian to sound quite similar to Spanish, and many countries believe it to be the most romantic of languages. In terms of vocabulary, it is extremely close to Latin and is widely spoken across Europe, as well as in some parts of Africa. Italian is known to be the Language of Music, and this perhaps lends to its overall romantic appeal, especially as it soon began to spread through art, culture and the luxury consumer market.

Portuguese
Portuguese is the third most spoken European language in the world, and is often referred to as a “sweet and gracious language”. A number of great literary figures produced their work in Portuguese, and this has perhaps helped it to retain its seductive qualities.

While there are many more Romance dialects that have sprung from Latin over the years, the most widely spoken Romance languages are French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian, and these were stabilized with the invention of the printing press, which encouraged a greater uniformity between languages. While, technically, the Romance languages do not have anything to do with being romantic, the way in which they are spoken, and the words that are used, make them some of the most seductive and passionate languages spoken in the world today.